Family Ties
by dramaqueen259009
Summary: Summary: Tala was quite happy, spending his summer witht he Bladebreakers.Until he recognised a certain someone in a magazine. Now he goes home with the bladebreakers in tow of course! to sort things out... If only things were that simple...
1. A magazine

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hey everyone! well, this is my second fanfic that ive uploaded... im gonna upload another one too as ive got alot of them sorted already! :-D

anyway this one is about Tala's Cousin.

Summary: Tala was quite happy, spending his summer witht he Bladebreakers. Nothing to go wrong, nothing to worry about. Until he recognised a certain someone in a magazine. Now he goes home (witht he bladebreakers in tow of course!) to sort things out... if only it were that simple...

Disclaimer: obviously, i dont own beyblade or much else for that matter! However, i do own Cora. Oh and the plot lol!

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It was summer once again, and the Bladebreakers were hanging out at Tyson's once again, settling in for a lazy summer. Tala had arrived a few weeks before. Since he had joined the BBA some years before, he had been accepted by the Bladebreakers, and they were now firm friends. The group were currently laying around the garden, boredom already settling in on them. Max, Hilary and Tyson were reading magazines. Tyson the BBA Magazine, pictures of the last tournament and articles devoted to him. Max, however, was reading an American showbiz magazine which showed the pictures from film releases and parties. Hilary reading a fashion magazine. Kai and Tala were talking quietly about beyblading and tournaments. Ray was laying dreamily, watching the clouds, peacefully. Kenny, as ever, was absorbed in Dizzy, typing away furiously.

"Wow! Who's that, Maxie?" Tyson asked, looking over at Max's magazine.

"Which one?" Max asked. Tyson pointed at a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, who was laughing at the camera, as she held onto a guys arm. "That? Well, she's one of the most famous girls in America! She just shows up, different places, with different people. Her name's Clara. Clara Moonflower. She's a singer, but only at exclusive gigs!"

"She is hot!" Tyson almost yelled, his eyes glued to the picture. Max laughed loudly at his friend, but had to agree.

"You know, she is pretty good looking." remarked Ray who had crept up silently behind them, and was now looking over their shoulders.

"Who is?" Tala's voice enquired, looking up from his conversation with Kai.

"Clara Moonflower. Look." said Max, throwing the magazine over to Tala.

Tala picked it up and looked at the picture, then frowned and looked closer, at the strand of red hair which looked so out of place with the blonde hair. And those eyes… blue eyes… but so full of mischief eyes… and that face! Tala went white. Whiter than usual. Then flung the magazine from him and stormed inside.

"Was it something we said?" asked Max, looking towards the door.

"I dunno," said Tyson, who retrieved the magazine, "But he's ruined the picture! Max you need a new mag!" Tyson yelled and the others laughed.

Tala meanwhile was fuming. He picked up his phone and dialled a number. There was numerous rings before a voice on the other end of the phone said sleepily, "'lo?"

"How dare you! What on earth did you think you were doing! What if you were found out? You stupid child!…… no don't you talk back! I'm doing the talking! Just you wait until I get home!…… oh yeah? Well I'm flying out now!…… no, not this minute! Don't be so stupid! I'm flying home as soon as possible. Can you stay out of trouble until then?……Well try your best! I mean it! Don't you dare set foot outside!……yes alright… bye… yes I'm ordering the ticket now!… bye!" and Tala flung down the phone and went back outside.

When he rejoined the others they all looked up at him, confused. "What was all that about?" Tyson asked.

"nothing." Tala replied, then went to Kenny, "Hey Chief, can you book a ticket for me?"

"Why? Where're you going?" asked Kai, looking at his friend suspiciously.

"To America." Tala sighed, "I have something to sort out there."

"Yeah! Let's all go!" Tyson yelled, punching the air excitedly.

"No!" Tala shouted, alarmed and defensive, "No." he said in a more reasonable tone, "I'll only be gone a few days. I'll be back before you know it!"

"But, it'd be great if we all go, Tala. I mean I can see mum and we can all go and visit the Eiffel tower! Max yelled, also excited.

"Which is in France, Max." Ray said, laughing.

Max frowned then grinned bashfully, "oh yeah. Well, we can go visit the Tower of London!"

"England, Max." Ray shook his head laughing some more.

"No, we're going to America, duh!" Max said.

"oh, please Tala! It'll be such good fun!" Hilary said, and before Tala knew it, both Hilary and Tyson began to look at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Oh alright! You lot can come too!" Tala said finally.

"But, where are we going to stay?" Tyson suddenly asked seriously.

"Well, I'm going to be staying at mine when we get there." said Tala.

"Wow! You own a house? In America? Go Tala!" Tyson punched the air excitedly.

"Hang on… you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking are you?" Tala asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We'll stay at yours!" Hilary, Tyson and Max yelled as one.

"But-" Tala began, looking frustrated, "You cant."

"Why not? What are you hiding from us?" Tyson asked, suspicious again.

"What? Nothing! I just like my privacy is all." Tala replied quickly.

_Too quickly _thought Kai.

"Well, tough. We're staying at yours." Hilary said decisively.

"Well, I've booked the tickets, first class… we leave tomorrow morning." Kenny said smiling.

Tala looked exasperatedly from face to face then finally nodded, "Alright, you can stay."

The chorus of cheers was cut short by Kai's voice saying, "And who's paying for this?"

"Well, the BBA is paying half…" Kenny trailed off.

"So, you can pay the other half!" Tyson yelled.

"Great." muttered Kai, "Bloody great."

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Reviews welcome! lol


	2. A dangerous animal

well, two chapters in one go is pretty good! lol

well really more like one and a half because this one kinda starts the story properly lol

anyway... enjoy!

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Tala lead his friends up the path to the three story mansion ahead of them.

"Wow! You live here?" Max gasped, looking up at the expensively built house. Tala nodded and smiled grimly at his friend's faces as they looked up at the house.

Balcony's protruded from each upper story window and big double doors were thrown wide on a couple of them. The garden around them was a lush green, trees lined the perimeters and bushes lined the path. Far to the right, they could see the edge of what looked to be a _very_ big swimming pool, and to the left a winding path lead away into a cluster of trees.

When they reached the front door after climbing a small flight of stone steps, Tala rang the bell and the door was almost immediately pulled open. An older man stood there dressed in a smart black suit. The group followed Tala inside, looking around in awe at the hall. There were lots of doors leading to different areas of the place, and above them was an expensive diamond chandelier.

Only Kai didn't look awed, he looked bored and Tala grinned wryly at his team mate's expression as he too surveyed the room.

"Master Tala, welcome home. Shall I take your coats?" the man asked politely.

"Yes, thank you, Thomas." Tala replied handing the man his coat and gesturing to the others to do the same. They did so, suddenly becoming embarrassed at being waited upon.

"Master Tala, your rooms have been made up, and suites have been made ready for your guests too." Thomas replied before leaving the group at Tala's nod of dismissal.

"So guys, what do you think?" Tala asked grinning.

All of them were speechless, except Tyson who asked, "Why don't we hang out here more often?"

Before Tala could reply, he was interrupted.

"TALA!" came a shout from somewhere above them. Everyone looked up and saw a girl stood at the top of the marble staircase. They all looked at Tala confused but before they could ask, Tala yelled. "No! Don't!" and they saw the girl now sliding down the banister, grinning widely. Tala ran forward and caught her, spinning around still holding onto her waist and setting her down on the steps now in front of him.

"You're back!" she yelled again and hugged him tightly, he responded. They stood like that before Tala pushed her away slightly, now gripping her upper arms.

"No! I'm angry at you!" Tala said, but from his voice, the boys could tell he was trying not to smile as he spoke.

"No you're not." the girl said giving him puppy dog eyes.

"Damn you! Stop it!" Tala growled trying not to grin broadly.

"Make me." she replied and darted away from him, halfway up the stairs again.

Tala, seeing what she was about to do warned, "Don't even think about it."

"What this?" the girl asked and slid back down again. Again Tala caught her and set her down on the steps again.

"Yes that! Why did you ignore me? I specifically told you not to and yet- Are you even listening to me?" he demanded, seeing she was looking not at him, but behind him.

"Yeah yeah, don't do it again, do as you're told… I got it… who are they?" she asked, pointing at the Bladebreakers who by now all looked _very_ confused. Tala did too, until he turned around and remembered his friends. He reddened.

"Girlfriend Tala?" asked Tyson.

"Of course" the girl replied, grinning.

"That's not even funny." Tala said glaring at her. Then the girl giggled at him and Tala sighed then turned to face his team properly.

"Well, I didn't want you to meet her. But she's the reason I had to come back." Tala started.

"Now look, you!" said Hilary who thought she had a grasp on the situation, and walked over to the girl and started yelling, "You don't stalk ex's that's just stupid! Now why don't you leave Tala alone and go back to whatever hole you crawled out of!"

The girl just looked at her until Hilary looked away, embarrassed.

"No Hilary. She's not an ex." Tala said exasperated, "This is Cora Valkov. She's my cousin."

The guys did a double take and looked at the girl closer. She was shorter than Tala, but they had the same type of nose and face shape. Her hair was the same blood red colour, but was long and wavy, with bangs that framed her face. She had sparkling green eyes that looked full of mischief, and she was skinny like Tala, but, in the guy's opinions, she had the perfect body. She was lightly tanned too, in contrast to Tala's pale skin tone. She stood hand on hips regarding each one in turn. She was wearing a blue jean skirt with silver stitching and chains over long legs and a black off the shoulder top, short-sleeved, which had a silver skull and cross bones on which clung to her chest tightly, drawing attention.

"But… you don't have a cousin…" breathed Tyson as he stared.

"Well, I'm living proof that he does." replied Cora, glaring at Tyson, uncomfortable, then crossing her arms over her chest.

"But… you cant…" said Max, also staring.

"Says who?" Cora replied.

"So, why didn't you mention her?" asked Ray, glancing at Tala, before looking back at Cora.

"Because it's none of your business." she said, glancing at Tala questioningly. Tala looked back and shook his head slightly.

"And why didn't you want us to meet her?" Kai asked, eyes fixed on Cora's face.

"Because he knew you'd stare at me like a pack of hungry wolves!" Cora said, looking Kai in the face. Kai's heart skipped a beat as their eyes met. He looked away quickly. Tala was glaring at each boy with murder clear in his eyes if they continued to stare at his cousin like that.

It was silent for a good few minutes and everyone was becoming uncomfortable before Tala sighed and broke the tension, "Well, I suppose you want to look at where you're staying." he said.

"I call first pick!" yelled Tyson and ran up the stairs.

"No fair buddy!" Max cried and ran after him.

"Wait! You don't know where you're going!" yelled Hilary and raced after them.

The others stood staring after them and grinning. Cora was laughing until Ray brought up the very good point.

"Erm, aren't they going to get lost?" Ray asked.

Tala nodded, grinning, "Probably." To which Cora collapsed into giggles even more.

At that moment the yells of excitement were cut off as Tyson screamed. Then Hilary's scream joined Tyson's. They heard Max shouting too and running footsteps followed by a low growling. "Help!" Tyson was screaming.

Tala looked confused but sprang into action yelling, "Max! Tyson! Hilary! What have you done?" he sprinted up the stairs.

"Oh Damn!" yelled Cora when she realised the sound was growling, "Tala! Wait!" and ran after him yelling at him to stop.

Ray and Kai looked at each other completely confused and then shrugging both proceeded after them at a slightly slower pace. As they rounded a corner where they could hear the noise coming from, they heard Tala yelling, "What the hell is that?" Intrigued they both entered the room.

Max and Tyson were huddled together on top of a chest of drawers, Tyson was yelling, "Don't eat me!" and Max was trying to hide behind Tyson. And Hilary was sat on Tyson, trying to get further away from the thing. Cora was looking at Tala with a very guilty expression as Tala stood in the middle of the room, holding up what looked to be a ball of fluff by the scruff of it's neck.

"Tala! Put him down! You'll hurt him!" Cora said, trying to grab the fluff ball from her cousin's grip. Tala held her off effectively, bringing the ball of fluff round to face him properly.

"For crying out loud!" Tala said exasperated. Then he turned to the two boys and Hilary, "It's alright it's just a dog. It won't hurt you." All three nodded and jumped down, keeping well away from the dog. Hilary now hid behind Kai, holding his arm tightly.

"Actually, Tala, he's not a dog as such…" Cora said carefully.

Tala whirled on her, still holding the ball of fluff that yelped, "Well, what is it then? It sure looks like a dog!"

"He's not an it!" Cora yelled at him, "_HE_ is a puppy."

Tala rolled his eyes, "That's what baby dogs are Cora."

"But he's a wolf puppy!" Cora said, looking at the fluff ball with concern.

"A… A WHAT!" Tala yelled, still holding the fluff tightly. The wolf whimpered at this treatment and Cora tried to reach him, but Tala held him out of her reach.

"Tala! Give him back!" she yelled, trying to jump to his height.

"You brought a WOLF into MY house?" Tala was yelling, "What are you, stupid?"

"He's a wolf PUPPY!" Cora yelled back as if it made a difference, and stamped on Tala's foot, making him drop the fluff ball which she immediately cradled in her arms.

"OW!" Tala exclaimed and hopped on one foot, "What did you do that for?"

"So you would give him back." Cora stated and sat down on the bed, stroking the little wolf and calming it down.

Kai was grinning at this scene, the great Tala Valkov! Beaten by a little girl! He chuckled quietly to himself. Ray was also grinning as they all watched him hopping and almost fall over.

By the time Tala had recovered, Cora was playing with the puppy happily, using a jumper as a tug rope. A jumper Tala recognised.

"Hey! That's mine!" he said, trying to snatch it away. The little wolf growled playfully and tugged back, "No!" Tala growled, "Give it back!"

The blade breakers collapsed into fits of laughter, except Kai, who remained standing.

"Well I wasn't going to use one of mine, was I?" Cora asked, rolling her eyes and this brought even more laughing from the group.

"That's… not… the… point!" Tala replied, still trying to retrieve his jumper. The wolf was wagging it's tail now and its eyes seemed to be grinning at him, "You think it's funny do you?" Tala growled and the dog barked still keeping hold of the material. "Yeah? Well, I don't!" Tala said back and Cora giggled as Tala began wrestling with the pup. After a few more minutes, Tala eventually got his jumper back. It was covered in holes and there were tears everywhere. He dropped it on the floor in disgust and the pup pounced on it again.

"You can't keep him." Tala said seriously to Cora.

"What? Why not?" Cora asked, her eyes sad.

"Because he's a wild animal! He's dangerous!" Tala replied as if it was obvious.

"No he's not!" she glared at him and hugged the puppy close. Tala made to grab it as it nuzzled her cheek, but Cora dodged him.

"Cora, give him to me and I'll go and take him outside." Tala tried to reason with her.

"No!" she replied, tears in her voice now and her eyes welled up.

"Oh no you don't!" Tala said warningly.

"But I thought you'd like him!" Cora sniffed, hugging the fluff ball close.

"That's not the point, he's a dangerous animal!" At this point the 'dangerous animal' whimpered as if he understood.

"He's not so bad, Tala." said Hilary. Everyone looked at her and she blushed and grabbed hold of Kai again who shook her off impatiently.

"You don't even know his name!" Cora sobbed.

Tala looked like he was going to explode, "I don't need to know it's name! It's going!"

"Fine!" Cora yelled, "I'll go get rid of him!" and she stood and went to leave the room saying, "Come on Wolborg! Let's go!"

"Wait, what did you call him?" Tala asked, eyebrow raised.

"Wolborg, after your bit beast. But it doesn't matter now." she said and was about to walk out when-

"Wait, Cora. I suppose he could stay for a while…" Tala said, touched that she'd used his bit beast's name.

Cora instantly brightened, "Yay! Thank's Tally!" she said and hugged him. She was grinning widely again, as if she hadn't been on the verge of tears.

"I think you just got duped, Tala." Kai smirked.

"Wait just a minute…" Tala said, realising suddenly that Kai was right, "You planned this!" he pointed accusingly at her.

Cora giggled, "Of course."

Tala growled but couldn't change his decision, "Fine, keep him I don't care!" he declared. Then he turned his back on her and turned to the others, "Now, did you want the tour or not?" he asked a bit stroppier than usual.

"Don't take it out on them, Tally." Cora said and shoved past her cousin, passing him the fluff ball again, "I'll show them." And she left the room, beckoning to the others to follow her.

"Well, that's some cousin you've got Tala." said Kai smirking at him.

Tala glowered at him, "Shut up Kai."

And Kai, chuckling slightly, left the room to join the tour.

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i realise that Cora seems a little manipulative and childish in this story... but she's not... honest!

anyway, hope you enjoyed it!

Chapter 3 coming soon....


	3. Singing

Hey there!

first off: thanks to marishka91 for reviewing! i;m glad you're enjoying it already! :-D

well, this is the third chapter... the next one should be up soon, but i have to write it yet! lol

Oh, and the song in this one is actually one of mine, i wrote it for another story ages ago, but it suits this one too!

Enjoy!

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A couple of hours later, Cora had shown them the entire house including the attic and basements, even though Kai thought they wouldn't really need to know about them. But, as Cora had pointed out, "I'm doing the tour, not you so shut it." The others had laughed at Kai's shocked reaction and Kai stayed silent, glaring at them all for a while after that.

"Well, I suppose I'd better show you what rooms are yours." Cora said and lead them back upstairs to the floor where the "Puppy incident" had occurred.

They now saw that the corridor had eight different doors. The one they had entered earlier was Cora's room, and was situated in the middle of the corridor. She pointed out Tala's which was the one at the very end of the corridor, and currently had loud music blaring from inside.

"Now, there's six other rooms, but I think they've already been sorted." Cora mused and opened one door, the one opposite Tala's, "Right, who owns the huuuge suitcase and the lovely pink Barbie hair brush?" she asked, picking up the item that was laying on the bed, having fallen out of the suitcase. She looked at Hilary expectantly, but it was Tyson who stepped forward. "Oh my god! Hat-boy, why to you have a Barbie brush?"

"It get's the tangles out!" Tyson replied defensively.

"Sure, Ty." said Max grinning at his friend.

"It is!" Tyson exploded and slammed the door behind him.

"Right…" said Cora as the others laughed, "Let's see what's behind door number two!" She pulled open the door and another room was revealed. It looked identical to the last one, but minus the hairbrush. Instead there was a bright yellow suitcase in the middle of the floor.

"Mine!" yelled Max and ran inside.

"Wow! Sugar, cool suitcase." Cora said and left him to it. She had given them all nicknames in the time during the tour. Max's was because of his ability to find the sugar that was in the kitchen and had immediately gone into hyper-hyper drive. She opened the door opposite Max's, the one between her and Tala's rooms. A small holdall was on the bed, and another on the floor. "Don't tell me this is yours Barbie!" she smirked at Hilary who fumed.

"Of course it isn't and stop calling me Barbie!" Hilary snapped.

"No, that's my stuff." said Ray, stepping forward.

"Damn, and I thought Barbie had travelled light!" Cora grinned, "Well, enjoy, Kitty!" Ray rolled his eyes and also left the group.

The next room, opposite Cora's, was Kenny's, Cora had called him Chief like the rest did as she hadn't been able to think of a non-insultive nickname for him. Kenny immediately entered the room and powered up his laptop, ignoring the small suitcase on the floor. Cora closed the door shaking her head and opened the next door.

"I think this is yours, Barbie!" she exclaimed seeing the ten suitcases all BRIGHT pink, with flowers and hearts on. Hilary stalked past her pushing into her roughly as if by accident and slammed the door in her face.

"Well, that wasn't very nice!" Cora grinned at Kai who gave her a questioning look. Cora sighed, "Well, Kai, I guess this is yours." she said, opening the door of the room next to hers. Like Chief she hadn't been able to give Kai a nickname, but unlike Chief it wasn't because it would have been an insult, she felt strange around him and that had clouded her nicknaming judgement. She smiled at her own thought and stood aside so Kai could enter the room.

Kai saw her smile and he wondered fleetingly what it was that made her smile, before he shook the thought away and brushed past her into the room. As he did so, he accidentally brushed against her hand with his and felt a pang of something like electricity. He jumped back and she was holding her hand confused. "Sorry" he muttered and she shook her head as if to say don't worry and left him alone.

Once she was gone, he lay on the bed, hands behind his head and wondered about that jolt. It couldn't be- no, that was stupid! He told himself, he'd only known her a few hours! It was… ridiculous, he decided and set about unpacking.

Cora, meanwhile returned to her room, perplexed. What had that jolt been? It had never happened before. She sat down on her bed confused and saw with a grin that Wolborg was curled up in a new basket on the floor. "I knew Tala would like you." she muttered to herself.

As she got up to tidy the mess Max, Tyson and Hilary had made when they had been spooked by Wolborg, she turned her own music up as loud as Tala's and sang along as she worked.

As Kai and the others unpacked, they heard new music join Tala's loud music, but, unlike the noise coming from Tala's room, this one they could actually make out the words. The music was just as loud as Tala's but was softer, a sadder song.

_Sometimes, I lay awake at night,_

_Wondering whether I should fight._

_For years, you were the only ones I needed,_

_(Yes the only one…)_

Kai opened his door to listen to the music better, and was surprised to see that the others had too. Max was looking excitedly at Cora's door and listening intently to the music.

_One day you had to leave me,_

_For some other, better place._

_Can you still see me?_

_Still see my face?_

_Where did you go?_

_What did I do wrong?_

_Are you coming back to me?_

_To help me carry on?_

Max was nodding his head in time to the music mouthing the words as he did so. Kai looked at him oddly, "You know this song?" he asked him. Max nodded and sang along.

_In my heart I know you're there,_

_Ready and willing to protect me._

_But it's my mind that needs convincing,_

_My mind that keeps questioning…_

_Where did I go wrong?_

Tyson was transfixed on the door, but he, like Max, began to join in, quietly at first, then louder. Providing the backing vocals to the track. Starting at the chorus:

_I'm smart enough to know it_

_There's no going back! (backing vocals)_

_There's nowhere to hide!_

_No going back!_

_I'll be strong and keep my tears inside_

_No! There's no going back!_

_It can never be a blessing, _

_It always is a curse (curse)_

_Now there's something missing from my heart_

_Where did you go?_

_Was it for better or for worse?_

_Why did you leave me here, to be burdened with this curse?_

Then the chorus started again. At this point Tala's music stopped and they saw him open his own door questioningly. Kai nodded towards Cora's room and Tala raised his eyebrow, listening.

_I want you to know, I loved you,_

_From my day of birth to this._

_You'll never be able to see me grow,_

_All my life you'll miss._

_But I feel that you are with me,_

_In every little thing I do._

_There will never be anyone, quite like you!_

Now the music changed and became softer and more peaceful and Max and Tyson stopped singing, awed.

_One day I tried to look behind me_

_But your angel barred the way._

_And in my thoughts I heard her say;_

_Don't turn back, though it seems all hope is gone._

_Look ahead of you, and stay strong._

Quietly, using the chorus as cover, Tala moved towards the door and opened it a crack. From where he stood, Kai was the only other person who could see inside, other than Tala. He smiled slightly as he saw Cora swaying in time to the music, singing in perfect time with the song.

_I know I can't turn back,_

_And now I welcome what will come._

_Behind me there is darkness…_

_Ahead of me…_

_The sun…_

The song faded out and Cora turned around to change the track. She had tears pouring down her cheeks, but she wiped them away quickly as she spotted the open door.

"What do you want, Tala?" she asked, her voice bright as normal, so that everyone who couldn't see her wouldn't know something was wrong.

"Can I come in?" he asked, looking concerned. Kai saw her nod and Tala entered her room, closing the door behind him.

"That was some great singing." breathed Ray, breaking the silence.

"Too right! That's one of Clara Moonflower's songs." Max was saying expertly, "It was released a few years ago, it's an old one."

"I wonder if she'll give me a copy of the CD?" Tyson pondered and wandered over to the door. Kai stood in the way, "Come on, Kai, move."

"No." said Kai, "Leave her alone for a bit."

"Why?" asked Tyson suspiciously, "She's not your girlfriend, Kai, you can't hide her!"

"Because Tala's talking to her now." Kai stated and gestured for everyone to go back to their rooms. They did so. Tyson stayed for a while, but Kai glared at him, and he retreated quickly. Kai went back into his room and was about to sit down on the bed when he heard voices from next door.

"Are you alright, Corry?" came Tala's voice through the wall.

"I'm fine. It's just- that song reminds me of them so much." he heard Cora say quietly.

Tala sighed, and Kai heard him sit down on the bed. He didn't say anything for a few seconds. "It wasn't your fault, Corry." Tala finally broke the silence.

"I know." came Cora's voice, then her voice changed and seemed to be more urgent, "It wasn't yours either!"

There was no reply. "Don't look at me like that, Tala, you know it wasn't your fault! Stop blaming yourself! It's been seven years! It won't change anything so stop it!" Cora said gently, but firmly.

"But it was! If I hadn't-" Tala started to say but she cut him off.

"If you hadn't found us then it wouldn't have happened… That's a load of rubbish Tala, and you know that! They'd been looking for you for years! They were prepared to do anything to find you!" Cora said a little louder, then she became quieter again, "You're family, Tally. That's what families do. Do you think they would have forgiven themselves if it had been the other way round?"

"I guess not…"

"Then stop blaming yourself! You've still got me, and I've got you and that's all that matters."

"Thanks, Corry." Tala said, but Kai could tell from his voice that he didn't believe her.

"Now go away and listen to your crappy music!" Cora said and Kai could tell she was smiling. He could almost picture Tala rolling his eyes and heard him leave the room.

Kai continued unpacking quickly, listening to music blaring out of the headphones from his mp3 player. Just as he pushed his suitcase out of sight under the four poster bed, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Kai said, turning round, and pulling the headphones off.

"Hey Kai," said Cora who was stood in the doorway. She was grinning at him, becoming the young teenager she had seemed when they had arrived a few hours before. "Tala sent me to find you. Dinner's ready if you're hungry?"

Kai looked at her questioningly, "Where are the others?"

"They're all downstairs waiting for you! Tala called you a while ago but didn't get an answer. I guess you didn't hear him." she gestured towards the mp3 player now lying on the bed.

"No I didn't." Kai replied.

There was an awkward silence, and Cora felt uncomfortable as they stood looking at each other. "Erm, well… did you want me to show you the way?"

"Alright." Kai answered and followed her as she led the way downstairs towards the dining room.

"Finally!" Tyson yelled as Kai entered the huge room. He had to yell as he was sat alone at the other end of an extremely long table.

"Shut up Tyson." Kai growled and sat down opposite Cora, next to Hilary.

"What took you so long?" Tala asked Cora, as they all started eating the starter, but his eyes were narrowed as he looked from one to the other.

"Because we were in the middle of a passionate kiss, Tala." Cora replied rolling her eyes. Kai almost choked on a tomato and looked at Cora in shock.

Tala glared at his cousin, "Very funny, Cora."

Cora stuck her tongue out at him, "Well we could have been." she grinned impishly.

"I don't think so." said Tala, "I trust Kai a bit better than that."

Kai was blushing by now, hating all this attention on him. He was aware of Hilary glaring at Cora from beside him, and it annoyed him, for a reason he couldn't fathom.

"So, Cora, where did you get that CD from you were listening to earlier? From what I heard, the artist hasn't released any CD's yet." Max asked, changing the subject effectively.

"Oh I got it from a friend, she has given out a few CD's but only to a couple of people." Cora replied carefully, glancing at Tala to see his reaction. Tala seemed uninterested in the conversation, but Cora could tell he was listening intently.

"Wow! You're so lucky to have one!" Max exclaimed, "Do you think you'd be able to run one off for me?"

Cora grinned, "I think I can most definitely get you a copy, Sugar. So are you a fan then?"

"Oh yes! She's amazing!" Max said, happy to have someone other than Tyson to talk to about his favourite artist, "Her song's are so amazing! It's like you can feel the emotion in them, if you know what I mean?" Cora nodded smiling, "And her gigs are like… WOW! Not that I've ever been to one though," he said sadly, "But I have seen Clara at a movie launch before!"

"Would you like to see her at a gig?" Cora asked. Kai noticed Tala narrow his eyes, but keep silent, and heard the sound of Tala tapping his foot in frustration under the table.

"Hell YEAH!" Max yelled excitedly, "That's like one of my dreams!"

Cora laughed happily, "Well, I'll see if I can try and find some tickets for you…" she said but was cut off as Max jumped on her, hugging her and jumping up and down at the same time, succeeding in knocking them both to the floor. Tala jumped forward and grabbed Cora before she could hit the floor, lifting her clear of the chairs that also clattered to the floor, landing on Max with a great bang.

"Ow…" Max whimpered from the floor and got up, rubbing his head.

"What did you do that for?" Cora growled at her cousin, rubbing her arm where he had grabbed her.

"You could have hurt yourself." Tala said as if that explained everything.

"It's only the floor! For crying out loud Tala! Stop being so overprotective!" she said and stormed out of the room.

Everyone stared at Tala, speechless. Each one wondering why Cora had had such a quick outburst. He sighed deeply as if steeling himself and went after his cousin.

"If they're not eating that, can I have it?" came Tyson's voice from the other end of the room.

"Cora! Come back here!" Tala shouted as she continued up the stairs.

"No!" she yelled back and Tala growled in frustration before running after her. He caught up with her before they even reached the top of the stairs.

"What was all that about?" Tala asked in a calmer voice.

"You! You're so overprotective! I _can_ take care of myself you know!" Cora replied, still angry. Tala sighed and looked behind him, knowing the others would finish their food soon.

"Come on." he said and she followed him into a room on the opposite side of the house.

When they got inside the study, Tala sat down behind the desk, and Cora sat in front of him on a comfortable armchair. She had long learned not to be intimidated by this set up.

"We need to sort this out. It's why I came back." Tala said, looking at her from his side of the desk. Cora nodded, letting him say what he had to. She knew what he was going to say anyway really. "You know I'm not happy about the way you've been acting. You can't keep going in and out of parties and clubs, especially as you're only sixteen! And especially where the paparazzi are! You know how dangerous it is!" Cora watched Tala silently, he was letting out all his frustration. She knew he was really annoyed this time.

"I was going to tell you." she said quietly.

"When? When were you going to tell me?" Tala raved, "When you released an album? Christmas? When you next saw me? When _Boris_ found you?"

Cora shuddered instinctively, she hated that man more than anything in the world, "But I was careful! I've been doing this for _years_ and you've never noticed!" she said, then realised she'd said the wrong thing.

"Careful? Careful! One reporter following you home, one person recognising you and everything, _everything_ goes up in flames! Don't you understand that?! How stupid are you?!" Tala exploded.

Cora sat, watching Tala as he shouted at her. He had never been like this before. She sat there, confused, but when he called her stupid, she got angry too. She jumped up, "I am _not_ stupid Tala! So I did something that you didn't want me to do, that doesn't make me stupid! You don't control me! You can't tell me what to do! You can't protect me forever Tala!" she yelled back at him. To her surprise Tala went silent. He put his head in his hands, not looking at her. "Tal?" she asked quietly, moving forwards.

"You're right." he said, not looking at her. Cora looked at him in surprise, "I can't protect you forever, Cora, but I'm damn well going to try." he continued, now looking her in the eyes. "I'm your legal guardian Cora, and what you do is my responsibility. I worry about you. You're the only part of my family I have left and I'm not going to lose you because of something I could have stopped."

"Tally, I'm sorry." Cora said, moving over to him and hugging him, he returned the hug, "But I don't want to have to stop what I'm doing. I love what I do, and I have been careful. Please don't tell me I have to stop it." she said quietly.

"I'm not going to." Tala said as he continued hugging her, "I want you to be happy, but I also want you to be safe." He pulled away so that they were now arms length apart, "So, first thing in the morning, I'm going to meet with your manager and I'm going to have the final say on everything that happens, got it?" Cora nodded happily. Tala grinned at her, "Now, go. I've got some work to do." Cora smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek before running out of the room in case he changed his mind.

Tala sighed as he sat back in his chair, then he picked up the phone and dialled a number. Moments later, Thomas the butler appeared at the door, "Yes sir?"

"I think I need a drink." Tala said, grinning at him.

Thomas smirked back, knowing exactly why, "Of course, master Tala." And he bowed out of the room.

* * *

Well, thanks for reading! looking back it seems a bit of a long chapter!!

anyway, chapter 4 up soon!


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